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‘The lust for power and control brings out the worst in us.’
The longing for power and control can bring out the worst in mankind. The lust for power and control can lead to immense devastation. In William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, Jack’s everlasting desire of control leads to catastrophic impacts. Similarly, in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', Macbeth’s devastating acts and results of them are sparked by his thirst for power and control. Both texts utilise the transformation of their characters in their conquest for power and control to highlight the significant impact this can have on an individual.
In Golding’s Lord of the Flies Jack’s thirst for power and control bring out the worst in him. The election was a major blow to Jack's high self-esteem and he became more maniacal in his search for power. When the beastie began to be introduced by the children, Jack furthered the fear and kept it alive. “Bollocks to the rules! … we hunt! If there’s a beast…” The exclamation in this phrase is used to express Jack’s passion for violent acts. Jack disregards Ralph’s attempt at civilising the boys when he puts forth the idea of hunting the beast which in turn gave him control of the boys. “We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat!”. The repetition of beat represents the enthusiasm Jack possesses towards violence which then becomes a primitive desertion of civility that foreshadows the dark path he is going towards. Simon’s brutal death at the hands of Jack’s tribe heightens the descent into savagery which is resultant of Jack’s passion for power and control.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Shakespeare used supernatural elements to display that Macbeth actions based on the desire they had for power and control brought out the worst in them. “All hail…thane of Glamis! All hail…thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” Shakespeare uses repetition of the witches chant which unnerves Macbeth, he always dreamt of becoming King and when it was said aloud, many times it enticed him to make it true. The Witches’ prophecy set in motion the downfall and corruption of Macbeth as he murders to assure that he will become, and stay, king proving that craving power and control can bring out the worst in us.
In both Macbeth and Lord of the Flies, authors utilise the transformation of characters in their conquest to gain power and control and how this greed can reveal the vilest version of ourself. “Next time—!”…… But they knew; the enormity of the knife descending into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood”. Towards the start of the text Jack hesitates killing a pig. The provoking visceral imagery chosen shows the innocence of Jack, also foreshadowing his transformation. The aposiopesis and the choice of short incomplete sentences highlight his hesitation to such a violent act. “Bloody instructions which, being taught, return to plague th’inventor. This even-handed justice” In this soliloquy Macbeth debates whether he should kill Duncan. ‘To plague th’inventor’, foreshadows that he believes the murder will eventually come back to haunt him. The imagery is dark, ‘bloody instructions’, this suggests that Macbeth is aware of how murder would open a door to a dark and sinful world. At this point Macbeth is hesitant showing his true innocence while contemplating whether he should kill Duncan.
At the end of the text, Macbeth and Jack have changed, in Lord of the flies Jack chants “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood!” The chant displays irony, as demonstrated by his first encounter with a pig he displayed a strong distaste towards blood but now is chanting for it to be spilt. The chant lead by Jack is an example of how his thirst for power and control has resulted in him encouraging violence and anarchy. “Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold Thou hast no speculation in those eyes.” Macbeth’s vision of Banquo’s ghost reveals his guilt over the murder of Banquo and son. His guilt is so powerful that he loses his sense of reality and cannot be sure whether he is having a hallucination or not. In doing so, Macbeth reveals that his guilty consciousness has led him to a loss of sanity. Macbeth’s drive for power of the throne and maintaining control led him to severe paranoia, guilt and mental deterioration.
Ultimately, both texts demonstrate that the conquest for power and control lead to an individual’s demise. To highlight this downfall both composers employ various literary devices to convey the resultant transformation of characters as they make this journey.
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